


Just Ask for Help

by genericfanatic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, and Shiro is my consciousness trying to drag me out of despair, friendship and fatherly advice, in which Lance is me today
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 21:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8939332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: Lance is having a problem with what should be an easy task. Shiro talks him down from his frustration





	

10,000 years ago, Lion Castle was tended to by a team of engineers, mechanics, and technicians. 

Now, there was only Coran. Pidge and Hunk quickly learned the alien ships systems as best they could, but still, 3 people were not enough to tend to the whole ship. 

So, Allura, Shiro, Lance, and Keith were often roped into helping out. Of course, the three people familiar with the ships systems handled the big tasks, but delegated smaller tasks that they didn’t want to waste time on to the others. 

For instance: Coran had recently bought a database at this space-hub-market-thing, with updated information on maps, galactic governments (most under Galra control, but still), and other information useful to a group consisting of people who were either 10,000 years out of date, or were unaware of aliens until just recently. 

It was Lance’s job to upload the database onto the ship’s computer. That was it. It was a simple task. Probably the simplest task Coran had to give.

Lance had been at it for hours. 

Desperately, he tugged on his hair, and tried unplugging and re-plugging the little tablet with the database on it into the mainframe for what must have been the hundredth time. Tugging at his hair that was already pointed in every direction, he watched the little tablet bleep to life (as it had done before), waiting for the little alien characters (which he had memorized by now) that said it was linked.

The characters blinked on. 

Lance sighed and turned to the ship’s computer. He waited for a moment……

Nothing happened. 

Lance grumbled. 

Maybe the information was loading somewhere else on the computer, and it just wasn’t appearing on the screen? He started clicking on random icons, looking for the information he knew should have been there. It didn’t help that he still couldn’t read Altean. 

He put down the database pad and picked up his Altean translation pad. He had already translated every character he could find, none of them had seemed useful, but maybe he’d mistranslated one, the key one. 

After his brain felt like it had been ground into sawdust, Shiro came in. “Hey Lance,” Shiro said, “You still working on that thing?”

All the frustration came boiling over and Lance tossed the translation pad across the room and against the wall with all his might. “Whoa, what’s up?” Shiro asked, putting his hands up in surrender as he approached. 

“I just…ugh this goddamn database isn’t uploading like Coran said it would.” Lance said, rubbing his eyes to get the strain of looking at computer screens for hours out. 

“Want me to give it a shot?” Shiro asked, kindly.

The truth was, no he didn’t, because if Shiro actually managed to get it done than Lance was pretty sure he’d break down crying. But, he didn’t know how to say that without sounding pathetic, so he tossed the datapad to Shiro. 

Shiro did exactly as Lance had, plugging the datapad in and waiting, only to find nothing appearing on the computer screen. “Hmm. Weird.” Shiro said, “We should probably have Coran take a look at this.”

Lance grumbled. He was somewhat pleased that it seemed to be a problem with the system and not him, but he was still mad he couldn’t figure it out. 

Shiro noted his distress. “Why don’t we go get some dinner?”

“Not hungry.” Lance said, staring down the database that had wronged him. 

Shiro looked between him and the database. “Um…Lance? Have you really been working on this the whole time?” Lance groaned an affirmative. “If…if you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t you just get Coran’s help like…hours ago?”

Lance buried his head in his arms and mumbled a response.

“Sorry?” Shiro said, “Come again?” 

Lance lifted his head just enough to speak semi-clearly. “I said I didn’t want him to think I was stupid.”

Shiro blinked at him. “Lance…” he said, “Coran wouldn’t think that.”

“You don’t know that,” Lance muttered. “I mean, he’s nice enough he might not have said anything, but he probably would have thought it. And if Pidge had heard…or worse KEITH. I wouldn’t hear the end of it.”

Shiro sighed. “Lance. Its just a simple mechanical problem. It’s not your fault.”

“I KNOW its not my fault.” Lance said, “I just…I wanted to figure it out without their help. That I’d show initiative or something or…I dunno. I just. I wanted to show I wasn’t….that I wasn’t…” 

Tears started welling up in Lance’s eyes, and Shiro leaned forward. “That you weren’t what, Lance?” 

Lance swallowed, blinking the tears away. “…useless.” He finishes.

Shiro frowns at him. “Lance…you are NOT useless.”

“I couldn’t complete the simplest task!” Lance protested, “no matter how hard I worked, nothing happened.”

“Lance,” Shiro said, “There’s a difference between working hard and working yourself in circles. Clearly there was something up with the database.”

“I didn’t know that!” Lance said, “I just thought I was missing something obvious.”

“Well,” Shiro said, “If you were, then…you could learn what it was by asking.”

Lance groaned, “It’s not that simple.” He moaned. “I’m sick of needing everything explained to me like I’m a kid. I’m smart too, ya know.”

“Of course you are.”

He glared over at Shiro, trying to determine if he was being sarcastic, but he should have realized Shiro was incapable of being so mean. “No one else things so,” Lance said.

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is!” Lance said, “I’m nowhere near as smart as Hunk or Pidge, and you and Keith seem to keep up with this stuff just fine, AND you’re both better pilots than me.” He swallowed, some of the tears starting to leak out his eyes, “Don’t tell Keith I said that.”

“Lance,” Shiro said, “You’re doing fine too.”

“Not as—“

“Stop,” Shiro put up a hand, “Stop comparing yourself, no one’s judging you or grading you here. We’re millions of miles away from school.” Lance flinched at that. Way to go, Shiro, Shiro thought to himself, bringing up Earth to someone with known homesickness. “What I mean is…its not a sign of weakness to ask for help, you know.”

Lance swallowed sniffling. “I know. I guess.”

Shiro considered him. “Lance…did you by chance get yelled at for asking questions in school?”

Lance took a moment to consider how to answer. “Not…not in grade school, not in my hometown. I never needed to ask questions then. There, I was the smart one, believe it or not.”

“I believe it,” Shiro said.

Lance sighed, “I mean I was never a kid genius or anything, but I was smart. Especially when it came to mechanical stuff. I considered going into engineering, but I wanted to be a pilot.” He wiped more furiously as tears came popping up faster, “I wanted to fly in space so badly as a kid, I was desperate to get away from my hometown…”

Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulders and Lance sniffled lightly into his shoulders. “But…but when I got to the Garrison…everyone was so smart you know? I mean, my best friend was Hunk and he was like an inventor genius. And Keith was in my class and…and I only got into the fighter program cause he dropped out…” Shiro lightly rubbed Lance’s shoulder in a way he hoped was comforting. “Professor Iverson always got mad at me for holding up class.”

“That piece of shit still works there?” Shiro said, stopping his comforting for a moment. Lance looked up at him, surprised. “Sorry, its just…Lance that guy was always an asshole, don’t listen to him. We’re all here to support each other. No one will think less of you for needing help every once in a while.”

Lance sniffed, “What if I need it more than other people?” 

“Then you’re learning.” Shiro said, “That’s how learning works.” 

Lance sniffled again. “I’m just so…I get so mad at myself.”

Shiro sighs. “Come on. Come with me.” He says. 

Hesitantly, Lance follows him to the training room. “Uh…Shiro?” Lance said, “I don’t really feel like going up against the Gladiator.” He’d probably lose, he thought to himself.

“No gladiator.” Shiro said, “And you can’t lose at this. Don’t worry.” He pulled a panel out of the wall that turned out to be made of a weird shiny orange goo. 

“Uh…” Lance said, more confused than ever.

“It’s a punching bag,” Shiro explained, “Sorta. Come here.” Lance approached and Shiro took Lance’s hands balling them into proper fists. “Alright, keep your wrist straight, you don’t want to hurt yourself.” He pushed Lance subtly towards the goo. “Now, think of anything that makes you upset, and punch.”

Lance sighed, getting into position like he had seen boxers do in movies. Hesitantly, he jabbed his fist into the goo.

Unlike a punching bag, the goo burst open in a satisfying splatter. Lance blinked in surprise as it quickly reformed. Lance punched it again. 

Soon, shiny orange goo was splattering in every direction, barely having a chance to reform before Lance through another punch. Too busy punching to dry his eyes, his tears fell uninhibited down his face. He wasn’t sure when his groans turned into screams of pain, not physical but internal as he beat the metaphorical shit out of the damn goo.

A part of him wanted to hit the damn goo so hard it couldn’t reform, but it always did. Finally, he rested, grabbing his knees and desperately trying to catch his breath as sweat dripped down his face.

He was surprised when Shiro patted his back. He had forgotten Shiro was there. Shiro past him a water bottle. “This is what I do when things get to be too much for me. If it works for you, you’re welcome to it. When I’m not using it, of course.”

Lance drank the water, “Thanks.”

“Now seriously,” Shiro said, “You’ve been working for hours, you probably missed lunch. You need something to eat.”

Lance reluctantly agreed, letting Shiro walk him down to the dining room. 

Everyone else was seated in there. Lance felt a little ashamed when they all turned to look at him. He knew they didn’t know about the database, they were just looking because of the movement, but it felt like they were judging him. “Ah, Lance,” Coran said, “How’d the database work out?”

Shiro tried in vain to make a motion for Coran to stop talking, but the damage was done. Lance’s face fell and he turned around. “I’m gonna go a few more rounds with the goo,” He said, and walked off.

**Author's Note:**

> written because life sucks and Lance is me.


End file.
